Help Low-Income Neighbors Fight Legal Injustice

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Current in ZionsvilleMarch 24, 2015Bradley Merrill Thompson

Bradley Merrill Thompson, Member of the Firm in the Health Care and Life Sciences practice, in the firm’s Washington, DC, office, authored an article in Current in Zionsville, titled “Help Low-Income Neighbors Fight Legal Injustice.”

Following is an excerpt:

Two of the most common legal needs low income neighbors face are home foreclosure and eviction. Many may not realize that Western Boone County is part of a swath of territory that suffers from the highest levels of foreclosure in the State of Indiana.

Other legal needs include, for example, assistance for victims of fraud, drafting health care powers of attorney, family law matters including child custody and support, and creating guardianships for those who are cognitively impaired.

Presently, an unacceptably high level of these needs go unmet. A comprehensive 2008 study of the access to legal services for the poor in Indiana shows that about 86 percent of those living in poverty reported at least one legal problem.